The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Bones from cemetery washed on to street
Remains unearthed in Fife graveyard after collapse of wall amid downpours
Human bones were cleared from Upper Largo after severe weather washed them from a graveyard on to the street.
Heavy rain caused a boundary wall at Largo and Newburn Parish Church to collapse on Saturday, disturbing a number of ancient graves.
Fife Council helped the church gather the bones and make the area safe.
Liz Murphy, head of bereavement services at Fife Council, said: “Unfortunately, some historic graves were disturbed and exposed.
“In order to preserve the dignity of the deceased, where safe, the remains have been moved into the church.
“Any exposed ancient lairs are covered until it is safe to restore or rebury them.”
The incident was one of many as Fifers get back to normal after torrential rain caused yet more flooding.
Council teams have been out in force targeting areas still affected as they battle to get roads back open.
Service manager Bill Liddle said: “We have a couple of locations still with standing water and minor roads closed, so we’ll be working in these areas to get them open.
“We’ll also be replenishing our sandbag stock and retrieving any flood signs that are no longer required.”
A number of Fife beaches are still off limits to the public because of the ongoing threat of pollution.
The precaution was taken at beaches, including Aberdour’s Black Sands, after flooding earlier this week forced Scottish Water to release pressure by allowing untreated waste into the Forth.
Fife Coastal and Countryside Trust indicated that while no pollutants were found at Aberdour, there remains a risk at the award-winning beach, so swimming should still be avoided.
It’s understood this will not affect Black Sands’ Blue Flag status for high environmental and quality standards.
A number of Fife beaches are expected to be off limits for several days.
Lisa McCann, the council’s environmental health service manager said: “We’re monitoring Fife’s beaches alongside Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, and working with Sepa, following their guidance on water quality.
“Conditions are poor around the country following the torrential rain which caused storm drains to overflow.
“We’ll keep warning signs up until Sepa are satisfied with water samples around the coast.”
Elsewhere, roads bosses blamed “exceptional rainfall” for floods in Angus that closed the A92 at the weekend.
And the latest deluge to batter Broughty Ferry has raised fears that drainage infrastructure is inadequate.
The Ferry saw some extensive flooding, with Forthill Road and Cedar Road among the worst hit. In Perthshire, the council made a “normal, planned, routine road inspection programme”.
In order to preserve the dignity of the deceased, where safe, the remains have been moved into the church. LIZ MURPHY